The present disclosure generally relates to cooling systems and, more particularly, to heat exchangers implemented in cooling systems.
This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of art that may be related to various aspects of the present disclosure, which are described below. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present disclosure. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.
Generally, heat exchangers may be implemented in cooling systems, such as air conditioning systems, chiller systems, refrigeration systems, and/or the like. In operation, a heat exchanger may facilitate energy (e.g., heat) exchange between a circulated refrigerant (e.g., coolant) and a surrounding fluid (e.g., water or air). In particular, while circulated in the cooling system, the refrigerant may be cycled through various phases. For example, in an evaporator heat exchanger (e.g., evaporator), the refrigerant may enter an evaporator tube as a liquid, evaporate, and exit the evaporator tube as a vapor. Additionally, in a condenser heat exchanger (e.g., condenser), the refrigerant may enter a condenser tube as a vapor, condense, and exit the condenser tube as a liquid.
While some energy exchange may result due to temperature difference (e.g., sensible heat), much more of the energy exchange between the fluid and the refrigerant in a heat exchanger may occur due to phase change (e.g., latent heat) of the refrigerant. For example, in the evaporator, phase change of the refrigerant from a liquid phase to a gas phase may extract heat from air flowing around the evaporator tube, thereby cooling the air. Thus, heat extraction efficiency of a heat exchanger may be dependent on extent the phase change is completed. For example, heat extraction efficiency of the evaporator may increase as the portion of the refrigerant that is converted to the gas state increases.